Pretty Tricky Room

yeahhhboiii

yeahhhboiii

I'm fairly new to Doubles battling, and with the new XY Battles Spot having a Doubles component, I thought I might as well try it out. I've been doing fairly well on Showdown with this team, only a couple battles but I've won more than I've lost. Regardless, I'd love to make this team better than it already is, because I see potential in these guys. Here it is:

Dusclops @ Eviolite
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Destiny Bond
- Trick Room
This Dusclops is usually my initial Trick Roomer. He has monstrous defenses, so he stays alive for a while, and he can burn Mega threats like Mawile and Kanga. His Pain Split is for stalling out his death when he's been statused, and he uses Destiny Bond at the end of his HP to take down a Poke.

Dragalge @ Assault Vest
Ability: Poison Point
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Dragon Pulse
- Sludge Bomb
- Scald
- Thunderbolt
The Dragalge with Assault Vest leaves it with INSANE Special D, and allows it to have a great move set for a Special Sweeper, which is the role it fills on my team. It also has a nice ability which makes it difficult to deal with Offensively, and the Poison type helps agains Pokes that try to toxic stall you out, but I feel like the move set should be tweaked a bit and I'm not sure how.

Mawile-Mega @ Mawilite
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Def / 248 SDef
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
I decided not to max out Attack because I feel it's big enough already. With a Substitute and SD, Mawile has unstoppable attack even without EVs. With big defenses in each stat, it takes a couple of hits to take Mawile out.

Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SDef
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Power Whip
- Protect
It's your typical annoying Ferrothorn, it can stay late in the battle and Leech Seed the remaining Pokes, it can set up rocks in the beginning to check Talonflame and MegaZard Y, and is the ultimate Physical Sweeper check. I carry the Protect incase of a threatening Fire pokemon, and the Power Whip for STAB.

Audino @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Heal Pulse
- Wish
- Trick Room
- Heal Bell
Audino is so generous. It's sole purpose on this team is to help out other Pokemon, it can Wish up a waiting pokemon early on, it can Heal Pulse one of the pokemon on the field, it Heal Bells away statuses, sets up Trick Room, and regenerates itself so it can help some more. Solely a utility pokemon. It also helps against Ghosts with the Normal typing, which is great because I feel like Ghosts are taking over this generation of Pokemon.

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Scald
- Stockpile
- Recover
- Toxic
MVP! MVP! Quagsire is one of my favorite Pokemon and probably the most useful pokemon on this team. Set up a few Stockpiles and you can Toxic/Recover stall anything out, and it has Scald for the STAB damage and burn. It has singlehandedly taken me from losing 4-1 to winning 1-0.

This is my very first trick room team, and I'd love an evaluation to help me out. I want to use this team to it's fullest potential, and I feel like if I do, I won't be losing anytime soon. Please help me out!
 
It's not bad, but there's a few issues I have with your team. First of all, it just lacks a good deal of "OOMPH"; it's built too defensively, which is unnecessary considering you're better off just dealing as much damage as possible (especially considering you have 5 turns before Trick Room ends).

Here's a mon-by-mon breakdown:

Dusclops: In the first place, dividing EVs over Defense and SpD isn't the best thing to do, it's better to throw 252 EVs in HP to be able to tank hits on both sides of the spectrum, and then max out either one of the defenses in order to be able to take hits on that side even better. Pain Split might seem like a good move on Dusclops, but generally, there's not enough momentum to use it considering that even when Dusclops has used Pain Split, he'll find it hard to stomach two powerful attacks from the opponent's side. I recommend replacing it with something like Helping Hand, which allows Dusclops to support its teammates in taking down opposing Pokemon. Destiny Bond is an alright option once TR is set, but it's easy to play around outside of TR and you really don't want to lose your Dusclops in the first place. What you could do is replace it with Night Shade, which allows you to not be completely shut down by Taunt.

Dragalge: USE ADAPTABILITY. Seriously, Adaptability is an infinitely better ability to use, as it boosts the power of its STABs to great heights (in fact, Adaptability is the reason why you would want to use Dragalge over other Pokemon to begin with). Assault Vest is a good item, but I'd much rather use something like Life Orb instead, since that increases Dragalge's damage output and enables him to use Protect). Sludge Wave is a better move than Sludge Bomb in doubles, as it hits all adjacent foes (and most of your teammates don't really mind tanking it). Dragon Pulse is a good move, but you could opt Draco Meteor over it if you just want to nuke shit before switching out. Mind that Draco Meteor pairs well with Choice Specs, since that item maximizes damage output and once you used Draco Meteor you want to switch out anyway. Having two additional coverage moves really isn't necessary (unless you're using Specs), as with its boosted STABs it's hitting enough things hard already. If you're using LO as its item, replace Thunderbolt with Protect and replace Scald with either Hydro Pump (hits harder), Surf (spread move), or Focus Blast (nukes Tyranitar, who is a very prominent force in the metagame, while also hitting Heatran really hard). If you use Specs or stick with AV, replace Scald with Hydro Pump/Surf and opt Focus Blast over Tbolt. Oh, and make sure Speed IVs are 0.

Mawile: Mawile is a great Pokemon in TR, but the set needs some fixing. Swords Dance might sound like an awesome thing to use, but in doubles, where you might have to take two attacks in one turn (and where the Trick Room counter is ticking), you often won't find enough momentum to set up safely. The same goes for Substitute: In the turn that you're setting up, it might very well be broken and there's a fair chance that Mawile even takes some damage from a second attack afterwards. Protect is much better in doubles, so opt that over Sub and opt Iron Head over SD as a second STAB. Furthermore, when you're not using Swords Dance, Mawile would like all the power it can get, so its favorable EV spread would be 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Def with a Brave nature.

Ferrothorn: Ferrothorn is just not very good in doubles, or at least not as good as it is in singles. While a fast, powerful Gyro Ball might sound awesome, it just doesn't have much more going for it (on that note, where is Gyro Ball on your moveset?). Stealth Rock really doesn't do much more than check Talonflame and CharYard, who, admittedly, are big threats, but there are more ways to deal with them. Leech Seed stall also isn't as good in doubles as you would like it to be. If you really want to keep Ferrothorn in your team regardless, you could maybe go for a Choice Band set with a pretty destructive Gyro Ball, as well as a strong Explosion, but I'd be more in favor of replacing it with something else. More on that at the end of this post.

Audino: You'd probably want to replace this one with Aromatisse, who can perform the same role, except with better typing, more offensive presence and an awesome ability in Aroma Veil, which prevents you from being Taunt bait. Using things like Heal Pulse usually isn't worth it, considering you once again don't have the momentum to pull it off.
However, I'm personally more in favor of an offensive TR setter to lead with, as such a TR setter can, when played correctly, set TR and easily take out something before going down itself, which is really cool (and Dusclops can always come in later to set TR a second time if necessary). Reuniclus is a cool option, as it is pretty bulky, packs a huge punch and can run Life Orb without the negative side effects because of Magic Guard.

Quagsire: You might've seen this coming by now, but I really don't think Quagsire is a good option on this team. Defense boosting is kinda hard to pull off in doubles to begin with, and Quagsire just doesn't have much purpose other than walling careless players. It's actually really easy to play around if you know what you're doing, so I'd rather replace it with something else.

So, there's 3 Pokemon on your team that are rather questionable to me. There's several things you could opt over them:
- Offensive Trick Roomers, like Reuniclus and Chandelure, are really important, so that's one thing you would want to use.
- Something speedy. I know, it might sound odd to put something with a lot of speed on a Trick Room team, but it can be an invaluable safety net for when you're under pressure and you're not under Trick Room. I personally like Adamant CB Talonflame for its strong priotiy, which also works under TR since it's priority anyways, but you can choose a lot of things, depending on what threats you want to cover and such. It's not mandatory, as MegaMawile can use its Sucker Punch to kill off a few things outside of TR at least, but it's a thing worth looking into.
- Supporters. No, I do not mean things like Ferrothorn or Audino, I mean supporters that are designed on being able to disrupt your opponent through the use of abilities like Intimidate and moves like Fake Out, Wide Guard, Follow Me/Rage Powder and such. These tend to work a lot better than clerics and hazard setters in doubles. Considering the weakness to Earthquake that Mawile and Dragalge have, something that can switch into these moves or somethign that can use Wide Guard to block these moves is your best bet. Hitmontop is an excellent supporter, with good bulk, decent attack and access to Intimidate, Fake Out and Wide Guard (also pairs excellently with Talonflame). Landorus-T is a great option too, as it has a ground immunity and Intimidate, as well as a lot of offensive presence and U-Turn in order to maintain momentum and not be a sitting duck (watch out when spamming Earthquake though). Rotom-W could be a nice teammate as well (especially when it combines forces with Lando-T), as it also has an immunity to ground moves and counters a whole slew of dangerous attackers in the tier thanks to its excellent typing and access to Will-O-Wisp and Volt Switch.
- Strong spread move users: Lando-T falls in this category too, but aside from him, there's a lot of them out there. They're really important, since they can weaken both of the opposing Pokemon, meaning it gives you a much easier time sweeping the opposition. Chandelure is a solid candidate, thanks to its strong Heat Wave and access to Trick Room. Rhyperior can abuse STAB Earthquakes and Rock Slides coming off its mighty base 140 attack, and it's really fast under Trick Room. Tyranitar has a strong Rock Slide and is bulky as hell under sand, and sand also allows you to break sashes, which is a nice bonus. There's plenty of them, so take your time to look through them and pick the oen that suits your team best.

In the end, it's up to you to decide what to change, but don't be too conservative! Change things as much as possible, since there's no better way to know what works and what doesn't than by experimenting. If you've changed your team up, please edit your post and inform me, so I can judge it and say what might be better.

Thanks for reading through this stupidly long post.
 
Thanks a lot for your help! I tried most of your suggestions, except a couple, including the fact that I didn't change Dragalge's Poison Point to Adaptabilty because Showdown said it wasn't released yet. Here's the new team, I seem to be losing more than I did, and I'm finding myself extra weak to EQs, tell me what you think:

Dusclops @ Eviolite
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Destiny Bond
- Trick Room

Dragalge @ Life Orb
Ability: Poison Point
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Hydro Pump
- Focus Blast

Mawile-Mega @ Mawilite
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Protect
- Iron Head

Chandelure @ Focus Sash
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SDef
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Heat Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Trick Room
- Protect

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Brave Bird
- Whirlwind
- Roost
- Spikes

Aromatisse @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Aroma Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Dazzling Gleam
- Wish
- Trick Room
- Aromatherapy
 
Adaptability isn't released yet? In that case, it might be better to remove Dragalge, as it doesn't have enough firepower without Adaptability and together with Mawile and Chandelure, it gives you a huge EQ weakness indeed. Here's some things you might want to change:

- Like I said, Dragalge isn't a really good choice as long as you can't use Adaptability. You might want to consider Tyranitar with 0 Speed IVs, a 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Def EV spread and Brave nature, with a moveset consisting of Rock Slide/Crunch/Ice Beam/Protect and Chople Berry as its item. Ttar can help in sponging up Dark and Ghost type moves that plague Dusclops and Chandelure and can dish out a lot of damage in return. Rock Sldie is a good STAB spread move, Crunch is a nice STAB that rids you of Ghosts and Psychics and Ice Beam can help you in dealing a good deal of damage to Landorus-T and certain dragons. However, if you're not playing pokebank or if you don't mind these threats, you can forgo it for Fire Blast (kills Scizor and friends) or Low Kick (helps vs fellow Ttars and gets good coverage in general). You can also use an Assault Vest set for more special bulk, although this disables the use of Protect (so you'd have to run an extra coverage move) and it leaves you more vulnerable to fighting types. Air Balloon can be an option on him too if the EQ weakness hinders you too much.
- Dusclops really prefers an EV spread of 252 HP/4 Def/252 SpD and Sassy nature, as it can cover up its physical side with Will-O-Wisp anyways and it loves to have as much bulk as possible. If you're going to run Ttar or something else with a strong spread move alongside it, Helping Hand might be something you'd want to consider over Destiny Bond, as many spread move abusers like that extra bit of oomph to their attacks. (It might be unreleased in whatever format you're playing though, so if that's the case, I guess you could stick with what you have regarding its moveset)
- Chandelure wants a spread of 252 HP/4 Def/252 SpA and a Quiet nature, as it's supposed to set Trick Room, deal a ton of damage and then die. It's not supposed to be extremely durable, it just wants to punch massive holes in the opposition, and considering you have two more TR setters you'll be more than fine for the rest of the match.
- Skarmory is kind of a meh choice for a Pokemon in doubles, as entry hazards just don't work as well in doubles as you'd like them to. Skarm also lacks firepower, so he's just a momentum killer to be honest. If you're playing Pokebank, Landorus-T is an awesome option, as it still covers your EQ weakness, it has Intimidate to disrupt your opponent and it can go for either a slow, TR abusing route, or a speedy route with a Scarf in order to allow you to win even when you can't set TR reliably (although with 3 TR setters, the chance that you fail to set TR isn't that big lol). If you're playing prebank, Hitmontop is your best bet, as it can do a lot of things to support your team (too lazy to type potential sets out as you can use a lot of variations, so just check http://www.smogon.com/bw/pokemon/hitmontop/doubles and choose your sets from it, or go for an Assault Vest set with Fake Out/Close Combat/Stone Edge/Feint and a simple 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Def spread and Brave nature(do note that an AV set doesn't have access to Wide Guard, one of your best weapons against EQ).
- Wish on Aromatisse isn't that good since it doesn't find much opportunity to use it succesfully anyways. Using a 3rd TR setter in general is somewhat questionable (you could replace either it or Dusclops for another TR abuser, preferrably with an immunity/resistance to EQ), but alas. You'd be better off forgoing Wish for Protect.

Keep these tips in mind, experiment a little more yourself, read through some smogon articles on Trick Room in doubles (I personally found http://www.smogon.com/smog/issue30/trickroom to be a very helpful article) and watch replays of the top players in the tier to learn what the top threats are, what synergizes well and how to play as good as possible (http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/xy-doubles-replays.3490863/). Lastly, it's always a good idea to join #doubles, our official IRC channel. There are always experienced players online over there who are more than willing to help you out!

I hope this all helped! Keep me informed on any changes you've made so I can keep helping you in polishing this team up.
 
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